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Tuesday, June 12, 2007

Mt.. Nuang - 4,898 ft

Gunung Nuang is the highest mountain in Selangor at 1493m. It is located a Hulu Langat. It is s a good training place for trekkers and also one of the difficult mountain to trek. A normal walking pace will take 8 to 9 hours to reach the summit. Normally people will camp near Lolo or Tanah Pacat before proceed to the summit. On a clear day, one can have a commanding view of Genting highland & Kuala Lumpur.

Gunung Nuang is a distinct solitary peak of 4,899 feet. The journey there can be described as going through 4 phases of hiking. The first leg, a relatively easy walk along broad track of 4 kilometers to reach the Lolo waterfalls and popular campsite. That should take just over an hour plus for 1,900 feet. Second stage, continuing from this picnic area, involved walking up a continuous and fairly steep slope for 2.5 kilometers. Destination - the mid point campsite - Pachat Camp. Suppose the name speaks about campers and hikers who take time off to "check stock" of inherited leeches. It is a welcoming point for those on upwards journey to recuperate before the strenuous final assault. By now, you would have reach 3,500 feet and walked close to 2.5 -3 hours from the car park.

The last hike is going up a steep slope of 1,000 feet This tiny distance demands an hour to reach the first summit. At this summit, 4,500 feet, it is a mossy forest. A path on this ridge runs from Gunung Nuang down to another broad track -the Janda Baik to Jelebu timber track. But this summit is not Nuang Yet.

The fourth segment as I called it is taking the turning left and start following a gradual down hill trekto the isolated peak at the end of this ridge. This short stretch down about 100 feet in height and then up can be accomplished in under 30 minutes. The return journey should be easy. If the whole hike from the car park is accomplished within 8 hours and you are still walking after that, then you are ready for Mount KK or Gunung Berapi in Mulu. This is "that" climb around KL for city folks to experience endurances and gauge their readiness.

Without revealing too much, this trek passes through forested hills with a very high biodiversity. As the forest has remained intact, keep your eyes open to enjoy a host of wonderful sights along both sides of the trails.The Ulu Langat Road ends at the Mini Hydro power station of Pangsoon. Stage buses use this compound as their last terminal. This road through its compound continues to reach the Ulu Langat Dam.

Going beyond the station, the road goes through poorly attended orchards for about half a kilometer. At the next landmark, there is a fork where the left branch [1 km] heads for the mid hill pump station and the right [ 400 m] leads to the Dam and offices of the Forestry Department.Visitors are not allowed to enter the compound of the Ulu Langat Dam. The scene at the end of the road? Before the gate, on the right, picnic spots from the Pangsoon River rapids . Besides the gate, a left turn off to this car park. Behind the car park are chalets for rental to the public and offices of the Forestry Department. An Officer is available on a 24 hours basis and register your entry to the Forest Reserve. There is no fee charged. You will begin your walk on through this pine forest, at first on level ground.After that straight path, the climb starts. The track is broad and solid enough for 4X4 vehicles and light trunks to the waterfall area. The nature of road surfaces is hard, surfaces vary from red laterite to remnants of tarred surfaces.

Leaving the pine trees at lower level, the track soon returns to tropical jungle interspersed with beautiful bamboo groves. Overall gradient is tolerable with long stretches of level portions as relief.The paved surfaces in the last kilometer is in fairly decent condition. when you hit that landmark , it is a sign that the end of the walk is near. At last, there is a clearing on level ground, wide enough as parking area. The river on your right is going through rapids, hidden within 40 feet deep ravine. The banks are suitable as picnic areas littered with signs of previous patronage.

Standing at the paved area, ahead lies boulders and a gigantic steel pipe. Don't be deterred. See that obscure path among the boulders? Proceed below the pipe. Here a wooden bridge will get you over the river without wetting your shoes. This long and never seem to end pipe comes into view as you ascend a low slope after crossing the river. You will be confused by the existence of another clearer path that forces you to ponder, it is a trail for bikers whose vehicles cannot hike that short slope of 10 feet. Just move ahead following the well trodden trail that runs along the pipe. With steep slopes on the left and a ravine on the right, the trail heads for only one place - the Lolo waterfall and campsites.

The end of the Lolo trail is marked by that insignificant waterfall, seen as the right edge of this picture. A flight of steps guides you to the water intake station. It is an open shed supplemented with dwelling of the care taker. The campsite lies in the wooded jungles beyond the pump station. Most people choose not to rush i.e. hasten to complete the climb within the same day. Hence the campsites at Lolo sees a perpetually large crowd each weekends. Regular would do a night hike to reach Lolo before midnight and head for the summit at first light. This region has the tendency for convectional rain each afternoon. Coming down the tracks after 2.00 pm. especially in the rain is not your idea of fun.

Some ideas as to how slippery the track is and its gradient, some more daring hikers sat on parts of the trail and slide down on their butts. That is fun and just to illustrate how fun can be measured. After the trip, you will look forward get the "when is the next visit" type of sentiments.

Trekking up Gunung Nuang in Hulu Langat offers intrepid trekkers endless opportunities to observe exotic and rare tropical flora and fauna.Striding through the forests of this mountain, the lush vegetation displays Malaysia's primeval and largely unexplored rainforests.

The hilly terrain makes trekking up to the peak of Gunung Nuang more arduous. The vibrant ecosystem that stretches throughout the trek will expose visitors to nature at its most natural form.



Download Nuang Map



Getting There


Once you are in Kuala Lumpur you need to take a bus near Pudu-Raya (Metro Jaya). Take the Cityliner (Red Colour No 838). The first bus from KL is 6:00 am and the last bus from KL is 22:00 hour. The first bus from Pangsun is 6:30 am and last bus from Pangsun is 19:30 hour. At the last bus stop, you need to walk about 1-2 km to reach the forestry office. You need to register with the officer there if you want to climb the mountain.

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